Jared Cannonier

Jared Christopher "JC" Cannonier (born March 16, 1984 in Dallas, Texas) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently fights in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of February 14, 2022, he is #2 in the UFC middleweight rankings.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Cannonier began his amateur mixed martial arts career in early 2011, winning his first two fights by knockout. In June 2011, he made his professional MMA debut in Alaska. He fought sporadically over the next five years, amassing a record of 7–0.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

2015

In October 2014, it was announced that Cannonier had signed with the UFC. In his debut he faced Shawn Jordan in a Heavyweight bout at UFC 182 on January 3, 2015. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Replacing injured Matt Van Buren, Cannonier was scheduled to face Jonathan Wilson at UFC Fight Night 73 on August 8, 2015. In turn, Cannonier was forced to pull out due to an injury and was replaced by Chris Dempsey.

2016

After an 18-month long layoff, Cannonier returned to face Cyril Asker on April 10, 2016 at UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. dos Santos. He defeated Asker by knockout due to a combination of elbows and punches. The win also earned Cannonier his first Performance of the Night bonus award.

In his third fight for the promotion, Cannonier moved down a weight class to the light heavyweight division. He faced Ion Cuțelaba on December 3, 2016 at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale. Cannonier won the fight by unanimous decision. The bout also won Cannonier his second consecutive bonus award as he and Cuțelaba won Fight of the Night.

2017

As the first fight of his new six-fight contract, Cannonier faced Glover Teixeira on February 11, 2017 at UFC 208. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Cannonier was expected to face Steve Bossé on July 7, 2017 at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale. However, Bossé was removed from the fight just days before the event and was replaced by promotional newcomer Nick Roehrick. Cannonier won the fight via TKO in the third round.

Cannonier was expected to face Antônio Rogério Nogueira on December 16, 2017 at UFC on Fox 26. However, on October 19, it was announced that Nogueira was pulled from the card after being notified by USADA of a potential doping violation. Cannonier would face Jan Błachowicz instead. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

2018

Cannonier faced Dominick Reyes on May 19, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 129. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Cannonier was expected to face Alessio Di Chirico in a middleweight bout on November 17, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 140. However, it was reported on October 19, 2018 that Cannonier would face David Branch at UFC 230 instead. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

2019

Cannonier faced former UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva on May 11, 2019 at UFC 237. He won the fight via TKO in the first round after a kick to Silva's right leg rendered him unable to continue.

Cannonier faced Jack Hermansson on September 28, 2019 in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 18. He was victorious via second-round TKO. The win also earned Cannonier his third Performance of the Night bonus award.

2020

Cannonier was scheduled to face former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker on March 7, 2020 at UFC 248. However, on January 15, 2020, it was announced Whittaker pulled out of the bout for undisclosed reasons.

Cannonier was slated to serve as a backup fighter for the UFC Middleweight Championship fight between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero at UFC 248 on March 7, 2020, however, on February 14, 2020, Cannonier announced he had suffered a torn pectoral muscle and expects to be out of action for six months.

Cannonier faced Robert Whittaker on October 24, 2020 at UFC 254. Cannonier lost the fight via unanimous decision. After the fight, Cannonier revealed in an Instagram post that he suffered a broken arm from a kick that Whittaker landed in the first round.

2021

Cannonier was scheduled to face Paulo Costa on August 21, 2021 at UFC on ESPN 29. However on June 4, Costa withdrew from the bout, claiming he never signed the bout agreement and had issues with his payment, while not confirming them as the reason for his withdrawal. It was later confirmed that Kelvin Gastelum replaced Costa. Cannonier won the fight via unanimous decision.

2022

As the first bout of his new six-fight contract, Cannonier was scheduled to face Derek Brunson on January 22, 2022 at UFC 270. However, for undisclosed reasons the bout was moved to UFC 271 on February 12, 2022. He won the bout in the second round after knocking Brunson unconscious via elbows on the ground. The win earned him a Performance of the Night bonus award.